Albamar Albino is a barrel-aged white wine made by Albamar with the Caíño Tinto variety in the O Salnés sub-region (Galicia).
Albamar was set up in 2006 when Xurxo Alba Padín returned from studying and working as a winegrower to start a new project in the small winery owned by his family in the town of Cambados (Pontevedra). He focusses on local varieties and low-intervention winemaking and produces unique Atlantic wines.
Albamar Albino is made with the local Caíño variety. A very rare grape that only makes up 1% of grapes in Rías Baixas. These are old vines growing next to the mouth of the Umia river in mainly clay soil. They use environmentally friendly agriculture with a very moderate use of treatments against mildew and powdery mildew.
In the winery, the Albamar Albino grapes are pressed with their stems for about 20 minutes. The must is then transferred into stainless steel tanks to undergo spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts. Finally, it rests in a 500-litre barrel until the next harvest and is bottled without filtering or clarifying.
Albamar Albino is a blanc de noirs that came about through its maker’s desire to experiment. An unusual creation that, although is not part of the D.O. Rías Baixas, is made according to an ancient practice used to produce a free run wine for people’s own consumption.